Demand for Independent Investigation of Shooting Death by U.S. Border Patrol of Unarmed Migrant Carmelo Cruz-Marcos

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• USA - español

TUCSON, Ariz., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The family of Carmelo Cruz-Marcos, an unarmed migrant who was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent on February 19, 2022, outside Douglas, Arizona, has retained Karns & Karns, LLP as legal counsel and is calling for an independent investigation of the brutal shooting.  

Carmelo Cruz-Marcos was 32 years old when he was shot four times, including two shots to his face, during an encounter with U.S. Border Patrol agents. Witnesses to the shooting say Carmelo was never a threat to any Border Patrol agent. The family is demanding an independent investigation of the incident by the FBI and an outside agency that can verify the evidence and facts. 

The Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, its parent agency, have a history and culture of violence and secrecy. The agency must answer questions about how Border Patrol agents failed to deescalate the situation, why the use of force was deadly, why Carmelo's body was not retrieved until the following day, and why Border Patrol agents prevented the Cochise County Sheriff's Office from immediately accessing the scene to conduct their own investigation.

The Border Patrol's use of their own Critical Incident Teams to investigate their own use-of-force and other misconduct incidents has been the subject of criticism because of the glaring conflict of interest presented by such an arrangement. The Border Patrol fosters an environment of vile and racist behavior towards migrants and should not be allowed to police themselves.   

Carmelo leaves behind his wife, Yazmin Nape Quintero, and three children ages nine, eight, and two.

"My husband was a gentle and peaceful man trying to provide for his family," Yazmin says. "He would never threaten the Border Patrol, and it is despicable for the Border Patrol to claim that he did. We seek to clear his name, and we seek justice so other families won't suffer like we are suffering."

SOURCE Karns & Karns, LLP